a homeowner
in Yankton, S.D., dropped a smoke bomb down a hole to flush out the varmint.
Unfortunately the bomb ignited a gas line that the critter had chewed through, causing a
explosion. The resident suffered flash burns; the gopher's condition was unknown.

Snails crawl over the face of a woman during a demonstration of a new beauty
treatment at the salon Ci:z.Labo in Tokyo. Supposedly the slime from the gastropods restores skin by removing old cells and moisturizing sunburn.

Tractor pull fans watch in suspense as Dan Longnecker
slowly moves down the strip on his John Deere 720 dragging a 20,000-pound sled behind him
during the Red River Valley Antique Tractor Club’s tractor pull in Paris, Texas.

Huge waves slam a seawall in Wenling as eastern China braces for
Typhoon Soulik. Fortunately, the storm was downgraded a tropical low pressure after hundreds of thousands were evacuated from the coast.

as police attempt to prevent the Orange Order from marching through a Catholic republican area of Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the Order's annual parade commemorating King William of Orange's victory in 1690. Damages presumably were limited to furniture that can be thrown - end tables, small cabinets, TV trays, etc.